The low-temperature thermodynamic properties of a spin-\textonehalf{} one-dimensional random anisotropic (Heisenberg-Ising) antiferromagnet described by the Hamiltonian $H=\ensuremath{\Sigma}{i}^{}{J}_{i}({\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{x}^{i}{\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{x}^{i+1}+{\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{y}^{i}{\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{y}^{i+1}+\ensuremath{\gamma}{\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{z}^{i}{\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{z}^{i+1})$ are studied as a function of disorder and anisotropy. The
Ji> 0 are independent random variables obeying a probability distribution
P(J), and $0<~\ensuremath{\gamma}<~\ensuremath{\infty}$. The approach used is a numerical implementation of a real-space renormalization-group (RG) method previously introduced. The isotropic Heisenberg case ($\ensuremath{\gamma}=1$), the
XY case ($\ensuremath{\gamma}=0$). and the Ising case ($\ensuremath{\gamma}=\ensuremath{\infty}$) are fixed points of the RG transformation. It is found that in the
XY region $\ensuremath{\gamma}<~1$, including the Heisenberg point, the system exhibits singular behavior in the thermodynamic properties for arbitrary probability distributions for the couplings. For the
XY limit ($\ensuremath{\gamma}=0$) this is in agreement with known exact results. The functional form for the low-temperature susceptibility is found to be $\ensuremath{\chi}\ensuremath{\sim}\frac{1}{(T{\mathrm{ln}}^{m}(\frac{T}{{T}_{0}}))}$ in the entire region $0<~\ensuremath{\gamma}<~1$ for arbitrary probability distributions. In the Ising region ($\ensuremath{\gamma}>1$) the susceptibility shows an approximate power-law divergence for small anisotropy but goes eventually to zero as $T\ensuremath{\rightarrow}0$. Possible relevance of these results to recent experiments on Qn
(TCNQ)2 is discussed.
The nearest-neighbor random-exchange Heisenberg antiferromagnetic Heisenberg chain (
s=21) is studied at low temperatures via an approximate renormalization-group method. This entails renormalization of the random-exchange coupling constant
J and of the probability law for
J.
P0(J). After
n iterations we find that the renormalized probability function
Pn(J(n)), a function of the renormalized coupling
J(n), develops singular behavior for small
J(n), independent of the initial form of
P0(J). This happens both for
P0(J) that diverge or go to zero as $J\ensuremath{\rightarrow}0$. The singular form of
Pn(J(n)) is such that it leads to a specific heat and susceptibility that behave like $C\ensuremath{\sim}{T}^{1\ensuremath{-}{\ensuremath{\alpha}}_{C}(T)}$ and $\ensuremath{\chi}\ensuremath{\sim}{T}^{\ensuremath{-}{\ensuremath{\alpha}}_{\ensuremath{\chi}}(T)}$. ${\ensuremath{\alpha}}_{C}(T)$ and ${\ensuremath{\alpha}}_{\ensuremath{\chi}}(T)$ are exponents weakly dependent on temperature (
T) that go to one as $T\ensuremath{\rightarrow}0$ and satisfy ${\ensuremath{\alpha}}_{\ensuremath{\chi}}(T)>{\ensuremath{\alpha}}_{C}(T)$, for arbitrary initial probability laws. The classical
n-vector models, and in particular the classical Heisenberg model are also studied using a renormalization-group approach and it is found that their behavior is different than that of the quantum model: singular behavior in the thermodynamic properties is only obtained if the starting
P0(J) is singular. An explanation of these results in terms of the scaling theory of localization is suggested. The relevance of our results to the experimental findings on the magnetic properties of tetracyanoquinodimethanide complexes is also discussed.
The one-dimensional quantum spin-\textonehalf{} Heisenberg antiferromagnetic model with randomly distributed interaction strengths is solved approximately for several different distributions. Ground-state energy and low-temperature properties are evaluated. Universal qualitative features are found in the specific heat and the magnetic susceptibility, which display a power-law dependence on temperature. Such features hold for nonsingular distributions as well as for distributions with power-law divergence at the origin. The approximate method of solution is based on successive eliminations of spins coupled by the maximum coupling constant.
Thermodynamic properties of S=2 antiferromagnetic Heisenberg chains are studied not only under the periodic boundary condition but also under the open one employing a quantum Monte Carlo method. Temperature and size dependences of the energy, the specific heat, and the magnetic susceptibility are calculated and edge effects on them are investigated in detail. The specific heat shows a well-pronounced Schottky anomaly but the maximum is located at a temperature much larger than the Haldane gap of the system. As temperature goes to zero, the magnetic susceptibility vanishes for the periodic chains, while it diverges for the open chains. The edge contribution in the open-chain susceptibility is attributed to the two S=1 effective spins localized at the chain ends at low temperatures, while to an S=2 free spin at high temperatures. This is a visualization of a quantum-classical crossover and an evidence that the present model is a Haldane system. High-temperature behaviors of the thermodynamic quantities are also discussed with the help of a series-expansion method. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.
Thermodynamic properties of one-dimensional Ising chains with random nearest neighbor exchange interaction J are studied exactly in the case of distributions of the type P(J) = A|J|ν for Jmin ≤J ≤Jmax and P(J) = 0, otherwise. The results are compared with those for a periodic chain. We find that the specific heat C ∼Tν+1 for Jmin = 0 and kT ≪Jmax. The dependence of spin-spin correlation function on distance and temperature is discussed. The absence of the peak in the zero field χ⊥ as a function of temperature when ν = 0 is noted in contrast to the case of the periodic chain. The effect of randomness on the low temperature behaviour of these thermodynamic quantities is different. For instance whereas C becomes analytic at T = 0, χ|| either remains singular (ferromagnetic) or becomes analytic (antiferromagnetic). The effect of random xy interaction (∑iJi⊥(SixSi + 1x + SiySi + 1y)) on the high temperature behaviour of χ|| and χ⊥ is discussed.